


Pages

by spinachpufffs



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Family Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-09
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 11:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8799967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinachpufffs/pseuds/spinachpufffs
Summary: Three pages appear out of the blue, each showing a future three people never thought possible.





	1. Prologue

It all started with three pages

Three separate sheets of paper−thrice unbound and thrice unfettered Each depicted the same notion but in vastly different ways…

These pages brought three people together, closer than ever With drawings of hope and a promising future Unlike any the three had seen before…

But, the pages at first were more of a hassle. It caused the three to question reality but also caused them to believe in magic a bit more - For if these pages meant what they ambiguously proposed, well, it was definitely worth fighting for.

And lastly, yet most importantly, each page appeared at a different time in their lives. Out of thin air practically. But let us start with the first.

The first’s name was Henry…

It happened in the Underworld. Like most things in his life, Henry stopped questioning the “how” and only ever focused on the “why.” There is that saying, “It’s just like magic!” Well, it wasn’t exactly a saying for all things in Henry’s world - that was just an everyday occurrence.

Which is why finding a new page from his storybook already written, lying next to his recently finished recording of Dorothy Gale and Little Red Riding Hood, was not something the teenager found surprising.

Well, at least not finding a page itself…

The content of the page was perplexing.

“This...happens?”

Henry smiled as he gazed at the page. No words accompanied the picture as that was all it was: a picture, but worth thousands of words.

But again, the boy was inquisitive and his journey to finding out the “why” behind this page was just beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second page makes itself known...

It finally happened.

 

No one expected it but alas, here they all were.

 

Storybrooke was at peace.

 

No new evil characters and villains seamlessly popping out of nowhere to run amuck in the sleepy town with complicated, unrealistic backstories (and not to mention the not-so-shocking-anymore relation revelations). Just peace and relative harmony for the denizens of the coastal, Maine town.

 

The “retired” savior dubbed it pretty awesome.

 

Said savior, one Emma Swan, currently sat on a bench overlooking the docks, with a bearclaw nestled in one hand and a hot cocoa smug in the other...

 

Yet, her part in _this_ was still to come. Here she merely sits back, waiting for her beau to join her, not even giving mind to what was occurring elsewhere in town to the two people she all but ignored most of the time.

 

“Emma!”

 

The blonde looked up to see one of those two staring disbelievingly at her.

 

“Henry…” she was at a loss and decided to just go with, “...you haven’t called me Emma in years.”

 

“Well, you didn’t respond the other five times I tried to call you,” Henry plopped down into the open seat next to her. “I saw you as I was walking and thought to say hi…”

 

Emma looked at her son, frown forming on her face. The boy looked despondent. She offered him the rest of her pastry which he just shook his head at and stared forwards.

 

“Well hi, Henry. What’s up?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“So, you come all this way to say hi, sit down, but that’s that?” Emma attempted to sound like she was messing with him.

 

“I’m a moody, hormonal teenager; what’d ya expect?” he didn’t sound like he was messing with her back.

 

“Henry-” The boy abruptly stood, cutting Emma off, snatching her thermas as he walked away.

 

“Gotta go, Emma. Thanks for the drink.”

 

* * *

 

Henry arrived home at precisely four o’seven on the dot. He typically got home around half past three but decided to take the longer route, wanting to catch his blonde mother at the pier where he knew she’d be waiting for the pirate; she did so every afternoon on one of her breaks. Before, Henry would stop by the station after school and there would be a box of donuts and two cups of hot chocolate that the two would bond over before Henry would have to rush home to do his homework.

 

But, it had been a long time since mother and son had shared in that now past-time.

 

Henry kicked off his sneakers at the thought. He made it halfway to the kitchen before running back to pick up his shoes to shove them in the closet. He scrounged around for a light snack to go with his newly-acquired drink. His brunette mother should be returning home in an hour so he went with his hidden cookies Regina pretended she knew nothing about.

 

The teen beelined to the couch where, instead of turning on the television, he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a piece of folded paper. He opened it and tossed it onto the coffee table face up.

 

No matter how often he stared at the depiction, the novelty was not wearing off anytime soon.

 

He smiled in spite of his sour mood as he took a swig from his drink and then a bite from his cookie. Pictures held a thousand words, or so the saying went. Who needs television when Henry had this page to look at?

 

Suddenly, the teen heard the tell-tale turn of the door knob as his mother came home from work. He immediately grabbed the page and concealed it just as Regina stepped into the living room.

 

“Hey, Mom.” The mayor merely arched one brow at the boy.

 

“I saw that, Henry.”

 

“Saw what?” It was a lame attempt but all he had.

 

He had yet to show anyone the page he found back in the Underworld, both his mothers included; and he sought to keep it that way, at least until he had reason to reveal the page. _Imagine if either of them saw it… I wonder though…_

 

“I thought maybe we could go out to dinner tonight instead of eating in,” Regina sat next to her son while Henry fought to hide a sigh of relief for not having to explain himself and his page. He scrounged up his face in thought, mulling over the idea before he shook his head.

 

“Take out?” He shook his head again before suggesting they call in a pizza for pick-up.

 

Regina stood to make the call leaving Henry to start his homework. She came back several minutes later.

 

“Want to talk about it?”

 

Henry’s eyes widened before he could even think to stop himself. _I thought she dropped it? Shit…_

 

“Talk about what?” _Play it cool, Henry…_

 

“The cookies…”

 

_Oh shit…_ in his haste to hide the page he forgot about his illegal snackage. _Of course… dodge one bullet just to be hit by another…_ “Ummm… sorry?” Regina just raised a brow and stared at her son. “Okay, sorry about being caught.”

 

“That’s not what I mean, Henry. I’m not mad that you are consuming sugary nonsense, spoiling your appetite and rotting your teeth. I’m concerned.”  
  


“Concerned?” Henry was confused.

 

“You chose the sugar over the salt, so to speak. What’s wrong? Did something happen at school?”

 

She read him just as easily as he read his storybook. Who knew you could guess a person’s complex array of emotions just by what they chose to nibble on? Well, Henry surmised it wouldn't hurt to delve into what was actually bugging him so long as he downplayed it and made it as vague as possible.

 

“Think you can give me a poisoned apple or something? There’s this guy… I really don’t like him. He’s a real di-a real something. He gets in the way of everything; he’s always there, whether I want him to be or not. It’s _always_ about _him_. Him him him! It’s like I’m not even here anymore! Like I’m invisible or something! Do you know long it took for Emma to just acknowledge my existence today?! Like, if I had a hook for a hand and had a beard she’d 100% pay attention to me but no! What the hell!?” Henry ran out of steam, completely forgetting his downplaying during his rant. He plopped back down into the couch, having somehow gotten up to pace frantically around the room. He even started to pull out his hair.

 

“Henry-” Tears could be seen about to burst in his eyes.

 

“I mean did she even stop to think if _I_ was okay with _it_?! No! Emma just up and decided to start going out with _him_! He is _not_ my father and never will be! I already lost my dad and now… now…” he fell back into the couch, “Now, I’m going to lose another parent, too.”

 

* * *

 

“Emma!”

 

She could see the blonde walking hand in only-one-hand with the pirate down Main Street from afar. It was just after six, Regina having ordered a superfluous amount of pizza, soda, and desserts for Henry after his breakdown. She even bought him that new video game he’d been eyeing for quite some time when she picked up the food. Her son had calmed down rather quickly, swearing her to secrecy about his crying and that he’d curse everyone if she told Violet his secret. Regina laughed at the joke but after leaving Henry to his devices, she stormed out her front door nearly hell-bent on finding the sheriff.

 

“Emma!”

 

_Is she really that oblivious to everything not vile, scummy pirate!?_

 

Regina angrily waved her hands allowing magic to teleport her directly in front of the “beloved” pair.

 

“Regina! Holy shit! Don’t do that,” the blonde sheriff gasped as she and Hook came to an abrupt stop.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t have had to if you’d responded the first couple times I called your name, Miss Swan.” Regina stood with her hands on her hips and vein in her forehead popping; oh she was ready for a fight.

 

“So, Your Majesty, to what do we owe this displeasure?”

 

Rather than answering the pirate, Regina just waved her hand and purple smoke enveloped Hook sending him to the town line. No need for unwanted interruptions.

 

“What the hell, Regina? Why’d you do that?”

 

“Because you and I need to have a little chat about _my_ son.” Regina purposely enunciated that because after learning from Henry about the way Emma’s been treating him (or lack of treating him), how could the blonde actually be his other mother?

 

“ _Your_ son? Seriously? We’re back to that old thing? What the fuck did I do this time?”

 

“Oh please, do I really need to keep a list of all your motherly screw ups, Emma? Who has the fucking time?” Oh yes, the Queen let the f-bomb drop; she was as irate as she could be.

 

“Back off, Regina. Or at least tell me why the fuck you’re having a hissy fit.”

 

“I will NOT back off. Not until you mother-up and actually spend some time with _your_ son, if you really can even call him that nowadays.”

 

“I _do_ spend time with Henry, thank you very much. And-” Nope, Regina lost it again.

 

“Really, dear? Because last I checked, the only man you had room for in your life is the fucking pirate! When was the last time you picked Henry up from school? When was the last time you sat down to lunch with Henry? When was the last time you came over to my house to see Henry just out of the blue? Do you even talk to Henry anymore for more than five minutes at a time, or only when _he_ approaches you? You never _make_ time to be with him and rather are completely absorbed into being arm candy for that loathsome half-wit. You better pray you’re a complete oblivious fool to all of this because if I find out you are seriously ignoring Henry of your own accord, I will think of something much worse than the Dark Curse to bestow upon you.”

 

With that, purple smoke carried Regina away before Emma could see the tears rather than fury forming  in her eyes. _I wasn’t projecting? Was I?_

 

Regina materialized back into her own room mere seconds later with full fledged tears cascading down her face, smearing her mascara. She let out a growl of pure irritation which only resulted in all of her mirrors in her room shattering. The brunette groaned in response before she let herself crumble to the floor in tears.

 

Regina clutched her chest as if she was physically in pain. And perhaps she was. “I was completely projecting. Damn you, Emma Swan.”

 

“Mom?”

 

Regina jerked her head upwards to her son slowly inching his way into her room.

 

“You okay? A bunch of mirrors downstairs just broke.”

 

Henry timidly approached her, stepping over some shards before kneeling in front of his mother.

 

“I’m fine, Henry,” Regina sadly smiled up at her son, who even kneeling was taller than her. “I just…”

 

“I hate him, too, Mom. He’s ruined the good, little thing we all had going on.” Henry surged forward and embraced Regina. She nestled her head in the crook of his neck, actually taking comfort in the fact that he had grown taller than her, and wrapped her arms around his torso.

 

“Oh Henry. I don’t hate Hook; I don’t know what gave you that impression.”

 

“Please, Mom. _Everyone_ knows you hate him. It’s fact. Although, no one seems to know the exact reason _why_ you hate him.” The way Henry said that was worrisome to Regina’s ears. Henry _was_ always way too smart for his own good.

 

“What’s there to like? He’s a pirate with no morals and hardly has a penchant for personal hygiene. He makes inappropriate comments and is a perpetual liar.”

 

“ _And_ he happens to be Emma’s boyfriend…”

 

Regina brought her head up to look at her son, “What? What’s that have to do with anything?”

 

“Oh Mom. I thought green was Auntie Zelena’s color.”

 

“Henry Daniel Mills I have no idea _what_ you are insinuating.” Regina extricated herself from Henry’s form, standing up and pulling Henry with her. She brushed off her skirt and straightened her jacket a little too roughly.

 

And _that’s_ when the other page made itself known as it came tumbling out of Regina’s pocket…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this one written and decided I should post it now! I am no longer in contact with my beta so from half this chapter on, expect mistakes! But I do earnestly thank them for all their hard work and effort thus far! Thank you all for the interest!

**Author's Note:**

> Originally intended for the SQ 2016 Supernova but decided against it do to not finishing it in time. That being said, I am still writing this story but wanted to see if I captured people's interests! This story is also beta'd which I will not yet disclose their name here but do note I had it beta'd.


End file.
